Making Pancakes

Yesterday while Adelle and I were at Target, we picked up a children's whisk and spatula; a Giraffe Whisk and Caterpillar Spatula from Nordic Ware (as are the pictures)!!

So, naturally, this morning we made pancakes. Adelle helped, I used the stove, we both ate. They were delicious! 

Making pancakes will never be the same... or boring!!

My Funny Girl

My blogging Mama friends, Anika at Anika Lee and B at Unexpectedly Expecting Baby, recently posted about the funny words their little one's say instead of the correct way of saying them!

I loved reading their posts because Brian and I were just talking about the things Adelle says incorrectly. For instance, today before lunch Adelle asked to watch a movie. She said she really wanted  to watch Bridge to Terabithia (she likes the cover) but I slipped in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. After some fussing, the movie started and while we ate and before her nap, she sat there completely transfixed. When I told her what we watched, she said, "Oh, Beauty and the Beets?"

Love!

I think my favorite thing she says incorrectly is guacamole. She enjoys the quesadillas from Chipotle and lately, she insists on getting 'Bacamole' with her meal (for her little bag of chips)! It's incredibly cute and I love hearing her say it. "Mommy?! We going to 'Potle for quesadilla and bacamole?" ADORABLE!!

In addition to the cute and adorable things she mispronounces, she tells little jokes too. Adelle loves dinosaurs and dragons. The other day, while eating at Chipotle (hence the little tale above), she said, "Mom? Mommy? Mama?! Dinosaurs eat bacamole. They're silly, Mommy! They can't eat bacamole! That's silly!" Oh my goodness that made me giggle, even typing it now!

Ah, my daughter is a ham!!

Memorial Day

It's the soldier, not the reporter who has given us
Freedom of the Press.

It's the soldier, not the poet, who has given us
Freedom of Speech.

It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.

It's the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the
Right to a Fair Trial.

It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag and
whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the protestor the right to burn the flag.

THANK YOU to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice!!

 

Potty Training

I can't believe we are already posting about this!! Adelle is, roughly, 2 1/2 and she is learning how to use the big girl potty. We followed the advice of the Moes Family, and tried potty training Adelle in one day.

We got a bunch of things ready before we began, which really seemed to help. During the week I started planting ideas of going on the potty in her head by reminding her that some of her friends already do it, that we have big girl undies, and that she herself is a big girl. Here are the other things we got together:

• Snacks to munch on - Salty, sweet and healthy so she would drink lots.
• Juice, milk, pop, water - Anything she wanted to drink, we had!
• Stickers and a sticker chart for a visual reward
• Suckers for instant gratification
• Big girl undies
• Plastic undies for naps and night-time
• Her favorite doll - We used this along with one of her old medicine syringes. I filled the syringe with water and had the doll "go" and then run to the potty with her. I also had her go in the toilet and not have accidents.
• A towel and cleaner for accidents
• Big girl potty chair/toilet cover - We actually have a potty chair and a smaller seat to fit over ours. This worked well because sometimes she couldn't hold it in and HAD to use her little chair. We kept the little chair on a plastic mat where we were, and the smaller seat in the downstairs bathroom.
• A stool so she could get onto the toilet
• An apron for me to keep treats in
• Lots of enthusiasm from Mommy
• A photo album with pictures of special individuals - After going on the potty Adelle would get to call someone to share her news. We would flip through the album, or I would just ask who she wanted to call, and we did.
• Floor games and books - Nothing too distracting.
• A timer - You don't want to go too long in between visits to the bathroom.

We started our day with breakfast and turkey watching. We do this every weekend and Brian and I wanted to keep the majority of our routines. After we got back from breakfast I put undies on her doll and let Adelle "find" her! We talked about what she was wearing and what that meant, and I asked Adelle if she wanted to wear undies too. She said, "Yes, I do!!"  We put them on started the timer. I then started playing with her doll and made her have an accident. I ran from the accident to the bathroom saying, "No, No, No. We have to potty on the potty!" I did that a few times then asked Adelle if she wanted to try to go. She said yes so we put her on the potty and she went! I was really excited, gave her high-5s, a kiss, a sucker and then showed her the chart and the album. She put a sticker on the chart and called Nonna and Papi. They were SO excited!!

We kept this up for the rest of the day!!

We called lots of people and only cleaned up 4 accidents. Two were poo and I am not worried about them at this time - it's a different feeling! The other two were my fault because I don't think I was patient enough or persistent enough to make her stay on the toilet when she wanted to get off. Lesson learned!

She is doing SO well!!

Chutes and Ladders

Today we went to a park in Bloomington commonly called Chutes and Ladders. It got the name because there are a bunch of cargo nets and ladders, and whole lot of slides! I'm not talking about little slides either, I'm talking about slides that are 20 - 30 feet tall!! Granted they are twisty slides, but still - that's tall!! Not to worry if you have a toddler or a kiddo who is not fond of heights, they also have two or three areas that are perfect for smaller kids and more like typical playground equipment. They are also doing some construction and adding new equipment which should be ready to play on at the end of June.

Auntie M came to help ease the climbs for me - my eczema is really flaring up. I went up the ladders, aka cargo nets, with Adelle about 5 times and M went up with her about 20! She didn't want to go home because she was having so much fun!

The only down side to this park is that there are A LOT of other people there. Other parents don't watch their kids and some of them wreak havoc as well as try to climb up the slides. The teacher in me took over a couple of times and told two kids not to climb up because I didn't want them to get hit. They climbed up anyway then cried when they got hit! Geepers.

 

 

Anyway, Auntie M has some pictures that I need to get, and when I get them I will add them to the post.

Our Big Girl!

Even though it happened earlier this month, our beautiful little girl turned two. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, how big she's gotten, or even how much she's learned! There is something new every day and I love being a part of it all.

She loves watching movies, reading books, listening to music, singing, playing with cars, playing kitchen, playing dolls, building things, going to the zoo, and being fabulous!

One moment she won't get out of her pj's and another she won't leave the house without her 'princess skirt' or her Ruby Slippers.

She loves fruits and veggies (thank goodness) as well as the occasional sweet. While blueberries disappear by the bowlful, she also really likes strawberries, oranges, cherries,  and bananas. If she sees bread on the counter, she will ask for a piece of that to snack on. She drinks everything from water to prune juice.

I love the little phrases she says, too. 'Wait. Stop it!!' 'I do it!' 'Mommy/Daddy, help!' There are others, but these are my favorite.

Anyway, my Sweet Girl is two (already) and I've loved every moment of my time with her!

Here are some pictures from her actual birthday. We blew up balloons and covered her floor with them. After she woke up, we put them in her crib to play with them. What a blast!

Here are the pictures from her birthday party. She didn't blow out the candle right away, but it was adorable!  By the end of the day she was all tuckered out!

I love you!